When she wakes up from her nap, Alexis begins the important job of surveying her room. She looks for anything amiss, anything laying on the floor that doesn’t belong there. A sock. Something peeking out from under the dresser. A teddy bear foot sticking out around the corner. A pillow knocked off a chair. She knows what doesn’t belong. And as soon as she spots it, she sounds the alarm.
“Uh oh.”
“Uh oh.”
“Uh oh.”
“Uh oh!”
This started the day she dropped her blanket over the side of the crib. That alarm escalated to emergency proportions very quickly. It was highly effective — I was in the room and putting blankie safely in her arms within seconds.
When it’s not a blankie emergency, she is more patient. But she still makes sure I see the problem as soon as I come in the room, and correct whatever has gone astray. This child misses nothing.